Jason Doyle leads SA Championship challenge at Gillman on Sunday night - December 2014
December 24, 2014 by Gillman Media
2015 Speedway Grand Prix rider Jason Doyle leads a strong line-up of challengers for the CBS Bins South Australian Solo Championship at Gillman Speedway this Sunday night (28 December).
Doyle is one of several riders who have been competing successfully overseas who are riding in the meeting to get a serious hit-out against strong opposition before they ride in the Australian Championship meeting the following Saturday night.
The other internationals, who all have a serious chance of taking the title, are Max Fricke, Dakota North, Justin Sedgmen and Rohan Tungate.
All five internationals have impressive credentials to take the title.
Doyle and Tungate will both be remembered for their performances at Gillman in the final round of last season’s Australian Championship when both reached the final which Tungate won after Doyle crashed heavily while leading. Both finished in the overall top four, and North has also been a high achiever on the national scene, finishing second in the 2013 Australian Championship.
North has also been a runner-up in the SA and Victorian Championships but has yet to snare a blue ribbon.
Max Fricke is the current Australian Under 21 Champion and a crowd favourite at Gillman, and Justin Sedgmen is in good form after winning the Gillman track championship last meeting and is a former Victorian Champion.
Sedgmen, Fricke and North were all also prominent in this season’s Victorian Championship with Sedgmen and Fricke finishing second and third behind NSW rider Sam Masters. North was the second highest scorer (behind Masters) in the heats but suffered bike failure at the start of the final.
In would be a major surprise if those riders do not fill five of the seven available final and semi-final places, but the odds are open on who will fill the other two places.
Regular visitors from Mildura, Jack Fallon and Brodie Waters, although both only in their second season, always ride well at Gillman and will be strong contenders but NSW’s Joey Ringwood has also ridden well there in the past.
Local hopes rest with Robert Medson and if he rides at his best he is not without a chance of a semi-final place but it might be too much to expect him to make the final ahead of the international riders.
NSW rider Kieran Sproule, making his first appearance in Adelaide, and 16-year-old Mildura rider Cooper Riordan should put in some impressive rides but may not gather enough points for a semi-final berth.
The remaining seeded rider, Jake Mitchell, will find it hard at this level, but has earned his place with his best performance so far in the recent Gillman Division 2 Championship.
The unknown factor will be former Australian Under 16 Champion Arthur Sissis who makes his return to speedway tonight after several years of racing in MotoGP. If he qualifies there will be a lot of interest, worldwide, in how his first steps on a return to speedway go.
There is also a second championship up for grabs, the SA 250cc Solo Championship for junior (under 16) riders, which has attracted riders from WA, Victoria and NSW as well as three local lads, Dakota Ballantyne, Mitchell Grech and Brayden McGuinness.
A full field of Sidecars, plus 125cc juniors on the infield track, all add up to a great value meeting to see out 2014.
Everything You Need To Know:
Meeting Date: Sunday night, 28 December 2014.
Venue: Gillman Speedway Stadium, 65 Wilkins Road, Gillman – near the Port Adelaide area.
Gates open: at 5 pm.
Racing starts: at 7.30 pm. Free spectator access to the pits for a close look at the bikes until approximately 6.30 pm.
Riders:
South Australian Solo Championship: Jason Doyle (NSW), Jack Fallon (Vic), Max Fricke (Vic), Robert Medson (SA), Jake Mitchell (SA), Dakota North (Vic), Joey Ringwood (NSW), Cooper Riordan (Vic), Justin Sedgmen (Vic), Kieran Sproule (NSW), Rohan Tungate (NSW), Brodie Waters (Vic), (Matty Day-Qld and Robert Branford scratched). Qualifying races: Gary Fischer (SA), Matthew Flay (SA), Seth Hickey (SA), Blake Ridley (SA), Arthur Sissis (SA), Jordan Stewart (Vic), Brady Webb (WA), (Mitchell Gill-WA-scratched)
South Australian Under 16 250cc Solo Championship: Declyn Adams (Vic), Dakota Ballantyne (SA), Aden Clare (NSW), James Davies (Vic), Sheldon Gill (WA), Mitchell Grech (SA), Jimmy Jones (NSW), Declan Knowles (WA), Jaimon Lidsey (Vic), Matthew Marson (WA), Brayden McGuinness (SA), Jack Sylvia (Vic).
Sidecars: Group 1: Timothy Bichard/Dale Knights, Shane Hudson/Brad Pitt (NSW), Phil Hudson/Nathan McFadden (NSW), Mark Mitchell/Tom Golding, Shane Rudloff/Damian Egan. Group 2: Keith Bichard/Derick Thomas, Clinton Crabb/Jarred Edey, Ricky Fechner/Justin Richards, Kym Menadue/Anthony Schulz, Mark Radford/Chris Walker (Vic). Group 3: Chris Bichard/Brett Lewis, Mal Greig/Scott Banyer, Dean Hobbs/Andy Westover, Aaron Silvy/Vanessa Cuthbert, Brian Silvy/Josh Knott. Reserve: Darryll Woods/Will Walker.
125cc Junior Solos (infield track): Group 1: Oliver Hamilton (Vic), Matthew Marson (WA), Brayden McGuinness, Jack Norman. Group 2: William Coombes, Hugh Evans, Patrick Hamilton (Vic), Liam May, Nicholas Possingham. Group 3: Avril Gill (WA), Jack Sadler, Angus Vandenberg, Layne Riordan (Vic-scratched).
Sponsor: CBS Bins & CBS Temporary Fencing
CBS Bins and CBS Temporary Fencing are family owned and operated businesses which commenced in 1975 when Graham and Marion Baker started in business with the purchase of a model 610 Bobcat.
As the years progressed they were joined by their sons Steven, Mark and Darren, and today CBS Bins has grown into one of South Australia’s leading waste and rubbish removal companies, and the newer company of CBS Temporary Fencing has also earned a good reputation for the reliable provision of temporary fencing.
Sadly Graham passed away in January 2013, but his family continue to support Gillman Speedway and Graham’s past support has been remembered by the western end terraced area being named The Graham Baker Terrace.
Admission:
Adults $25, Age Pension and Student Concession $20, Children aged 12-15 $5, Children under 12 free. Family $55. Programme $5. Parking free.
Concession is limited Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card and Student Concession Card holders only. A family ticket covers 2 adults and children under 16.
Weather Forecast: Maximum 29, minimum 14. Sunny. [www.bom.gov.au/sa/forecasts/Adelaide]
Souvenirs: There is a well-stocked souvenir shop including the latest Blackchrome manufactured shirts and jackets. Eftpos available only in the souvenir shop.
Food and drink: Full bar and catering available. Food includes hot chips, hamburgers, chicken burgers, pies, pasties, sausage rolls, Chiko Rolls, dim sims, hot dogs, doughnuts, coffee, cold drinks, sweets. Please note a condition of our liquor licence is no byo alcohol or glass can be brought into the venue. Also note no pets, other than guide dogs, are allowed into the venue.
Seating: There are large terraced and grassed viewing mounds and but no grandstand seating, so bring deck chairs or blankets if you do not want to sit on the grass.
Directions:
The best way to get to Gillman Speedway is off Hanson Road.
If you are coming from the eastern and southern suburbs, get on to Hanson road off Torrens Road or Grand Junction Road, travel north on Hanson road over the train line then take the first road on the left, which is Wilkins road.
From the northern suburbs, travel down the new Port Adelaide expressway and take the Hanson Road exit. Once on Hanson Road, take the first exit on your right, this is Wilkins road.
From the western suburbs, Wilkins Road is the continuation of Bedford Street, north of Eastern Parade.
For interstate visitors flying into Adelaide and getting a hire car, Gillman is about 20kms, and 30 minutes’ drive (depending on traffic lights) from the airport.
The easiest and most direct way, if not going to your accommodation first is:
On leaving the airport, turn left onto Sir Donald Bradman Drive. Continue along Sir Donald Bradman Drive until you reach the end of the airports grounds and turn right onto Tapleys Hill Road. Once you are on Tapleys Hill Road you can’t really go wrong. You only have to make three or four turns and most of those are simple. Just keep going on Tapleys Hill Road until you can’t go any further. That’s Port Road. Turn left onto Port Road. You can only turn left, you can’t go straight ahead or turn right, so pretty easy to this point. Continue down Port Road for about 1 km to the first intersection which is Grand Junction road and turn right. You only go 700 metres along Grand Junction Road over a bridge over a railway line. Stay in the left lane because at the bottom of the bridge you turn left into Gray Terrace. Go to the end of Gray Terrace (there is a slight detour along Gray Terrace at the moment) and turn right (you can’t go straight ahead) onto Bedford Street. Just keep going on that Road until you get to the speedway. About 2 kms.
Accommodation:
There is plenty of accommodation in Adelaide and suburbs, within 20-30 minutes of the Speedway, ranging from five star hotels to caravan parks and backpacker hostels. The Pavlos Motel on Main North Road, Pooraka; and the Mawson Lakes Hotel and Function Centre, Main Street, Mawson Lakes, are offering a discount to speedway fans but you must ring the venues direct and ask for the Gillman Speedway discount. Full details are on the Gillman website under the information/accommodation tab.
Contact for this meeting: Speedway Manager, David Parker 0403 364 658
Main photo: Jason Doyle. Photo by Ian Charles.